Aegon I Targaryen
Aegon I Targaryen, often called Aegon the Conqueror, was the first King to sit on the Iron Throne and the first King of the unified Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. He lived three hundred years ago. Early life Aegon Targaryen was born on the island of Dragonstone, an outpost of the Valyrian Freehold which his family had controlled since its settling a century before the Doom. Aegon took both his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys to wife in the Valyrian tradition. During Aegon's rule of Dragonstone, it became known in the Free Cities that he controlled three dragons, Vhagar, Meraxes and Balerion the Black Dread, and the city of Volantis petitioned for his intervention in the Bleeding Years, the series of wars that ravaged the cities in the wake of Valyria's collapse. Aegon considered his options carefully, but his instinct was to go west to Westeros and conquer lands there. He had a huge map of Westeros carved out of wood, the Painted Table, showing every bay, inlet and mountain, but no borders. His plan was to unite the continent under his rule. The Conquest Aegon's assault on the mainland was ambitious but eventually successful. He deployed his limited assets carefully and was quick to make alliance with local forces wherever possible, such as his treaty with House Tully, which triggered an internal rebellion within the Riverlands against the ruling ironborn of House Hoare, resulting in their defeat and later surrender. Aegon converted to the Faith of the Seven during or before the invasion, winning the support of the High Septon in Oldtown for his piety, even though he refused to renounce the Valyrian practices of incest and polygamy. Aegon eventually conquered six of the kingdoms of the Westeros continent and established the Riverlands as a separate region. He failed to conquer Dorne, even using his dragons, and was eventually forced to respect their autonomy. Later life Aegon founded the city of King's Landing and the fortress of the Red Keep at the site of his initial landing on Blackwater Bay. He had the Iron Throne forged out of the swords of those who surrendered to him. His later life was spent in peaceful rule and ordering of the realm before his death in 37 AL. Legacy Although Aegon I appears to have been a successful ruler, it appears that there was a belief that upon his death the realm would splinter apart and a return to the old independent kingdoms would take place. When this did not happen, there was rebellion and war that took a generation to put down. Aegon's principle legacy was ensuring that Westeros was considered to be a single land without borders or division, and it could be ruled through strength of arms, will and character, a belief that became so successfully engrained in the people that even when the dragons had all died out and the realm splintered by several more civil wars, the belief in the authority of the Iron Throne would remain strong. Character Aegon I Targaryen was clearly ambitious, driven and willing to take enormous risks with his forces. He seems to have been a skilled general, winning battles even when he did not deploy his dragons, and a canny and charasmatic negotiator, winning several houses, cities and even the Faith to his cause without the need for violence, despite mainland disapproval of his incestuous and bigamous marriages. Aegon I was clearly a strong unifying force that his sons were not, as they had to contend with a significant rebellion following his death. Aegon I had a reputation as a warrior and wielded the Valyrian steel blade Blackfyre in combat. Category:House Targaryen Category:Kings Category:Historical characters